X: Past Is Present (Hindi, 2015)

The core idea behind X on using the lead character’s inability to get CLOSE to anyone is brilliant. The fact that it was unpredictable till the final sequence unfolds is a feather in the cap of the creators. Also, the way they have subtly used flashes of the girl from the final episode across the film and of course the usage of various wristwatches is nice to see.

The charisma of Rajat Kapoor instantly hooks you on to his charming character K and he leads the line exceedingly well adding as meaning as possible to the proceedings. One can only wish that in segments where K is not shown at all, Rajat could have come across as his younger self just by going for a clean shaven look. This would have added a lot more to those segments.

The next best performer should be Anshuman Jha who comes in 3 segments as the younger K. He aces the role as the confused yet inquisitive young man showing variations across the three segments in spite of having to wear that bemused look on his face mostly. Credit to Yog Japee too for rarely have we seen such sports among our actors who have treated mainstream & indie cinema on an equal pedestal.

Given the minimal screen time only few of the ladies really catch the eye with Swara Bhaskar nonchalantly taking the cake as the best of the lot. Parno Mitra as the classy Bengali lady, Huma Qureshi as the control-freak alpha female, Gabriella Schmidt as the French seductress, and the headstrong Bidita Bag catch the eye in their respective well executed segments.

Technically the Nalan directed segment written by Kumararaja scores big with some exquisite camera angles (loved the shot where the focus shifts from the pipe to Aunty) and sound design. Similarly the Bengal segment with the delightful Usha Uthup renting a single room to a male & a female differentiated by their timings, has some wonderful usage of the split-screen technique and of course fantastic art direction.

In spite of not too many repeat-worthy dialogues there are some wonderful ones like, “Cinema is the ticket to escape from the misery of life” that bring a smile. The music by Sudeep Swaroop is trippy and suits the surrounding of each segment. The final Tamil song and the addition of Ilayaraja’s “Aasaiya Kaathule” are nice touches.

Given that the makers do not call it an anthology film, it is not right to call out saying one episode is better than the other, but given the diverse nature of each one cannot help but consider each one on its own. Also, the fact that the length given to each segment is not the same, the makers of few segments are bound to face backlash on the necessity of their piece in the puzzle.

One of the biggest issues with the film is that overall connection, although ingenious is not easily accessible even though it has been labelled an ‘Experimental venture’. Due to multiple segments of varying lengths & film-making methods, the audience are never able to settle into a rhythm to feel engaged & involved. The pacing too suffers as a result of this leading to even an art-house loving audience feeling impatient let alone a mainstream audience. Perhaps they could have restricted to fewer segments & given more screen time to few sacrificing the ‘hours on a dial’ reference.

The easily relatable segments like the ones with Pia Bajpai & Radhika Apte are robbed of their rhythm by minimal screen time given. Instead sequences that involve Sanjana, Avantika, Ayesha are given comparatively more screen time but still make little impact. The fact that K is not shown in most of these segments too plays a part as it is very tough engage by having just a single person speak & emote into the camera.

It is never correct to judge a product based on the makers, but given that the makers of X are critics themselves, a lot of preconceived assumptions/expectations get set. So when they make references to Truffaut, Fellini, Woody Allen (we even see shots of Annie Hall) they are bound to be hit with the ‘pretentious’ & ‘unabashed show-off’ tag.